State Sen. Mario Gallegos Jr., D-Houston, the first Hispanic senator elected to represent Harris County, passed away Tuesday afternoon at Methodist Hospital due to complications from his 2007 liver transplant, according to media reports.

"The Senator's family is enormously grateful for the outpouring of support, thoughts, and prayers expressed during the last few days, and respectfully requests media to continue respecting their privacy as they work through this difficult time,” Gallegos’ family and Cook said in a Tuesday statement, according to reports.

Gallegos was elected to the Texas State Senate in 1994, according to Gallegos’ biography. He was a lifelong Houstonian and an alumnus of the University of Houston. He was 62.